Angelina Jolie Latest Victim of Internet Death Hoax

Angelina Jolie is the latest victim in a series of increasingly ridiculous Internet death hoaxes -- but relax, everyone, she's alive.

A Facebook message began circulating this month, proclaiming the Maleficent actress had committed suicide, according to Snopes, a website devoted to both debunking and confirming widespread rumors.

The offending post -- which has the clearly bogus title, "CNN Video Footage: Angelina Jolie Says Goodbye to Her Fans and to Brad Pitt Before Doing This Suicidal" -- reportedly links off to a website called Entertainment News Update, which is rife with false reports of celebrity deaths. The site most recently claimed celebrities like Nicolas Cage, Jaden Smith and John Cena had died — none of which is true.

The point of the site's scam, Snopes says, lies in asking its readers to give its app permission to post to their Facebook page, which further spreads the false story while also gaining access to users’ information.

At least another valuable lesson has been further enforced here: Always practice constant vigilance, especially when it comes to the Internet.